Clamping apparatus for clamping and butting railway-rails, &amp;c., in the welding process.



3 BHBBTB-BHEET 1 Patented June 22. 1909.

H. GOLDSGHMIDT F. LANGE.

WELDING PROCESS. APPLICATION 131.111) PEB.15,1907.

GLAMPING APPARATUS FOR GLAMPING AND BUTTING RAILWAY RAILS, 6:11., IN THE H. GOLDSGHMIDT & F. LANGE. GLAMPING APPARATUS FOR GLAMPING AND BUTTINGRAILWAY RAILS, Gum, IN THE WELDING PROCESS.

I APPLICATION IILBD FEB. 15,, 1907. 925,630. A

Patented June 22. 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

III/III] H. GOLDSOHMID-T &'F. LANGE. GLAMPING APPARATUS FOR GLAMPING AND BUTTINGJRAILWAY RAILS, &0., IN THE WELDING PROCESS. APPLICATION FILED FEB.15,1907.

Patented June 22,1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

n x Z W 2 i 5 i w; 1 hi jointly invented a new and useful Clam ,butting the rails UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HANS GOLDSOHMIDT AND FELIX LANGE, OF ESSEN-ON-THE-RUHR, GERMANY, ASSIGNORS TO THE FIRM OF GOLDSOHMIDT T CLAMPING APPARATUS FOR OLAMPING ANDIBUTTING RAILWAY-RAILS, &0., IN THE WELDING IiROCESS.

HERMIT 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Patented Jane 22, 1909.

Application filed February 15, 1907. Serial No. 357,634.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HANS GOLDSOHMIDT and FELIX LANGE, both subjects of the King of Prussia, German Emperor, and residents of Essen-on-the-Ruhr, German Empire, have mg Apparatus for Clamping and Buttin ailway-Rails, Girders, and the Like in the WeldingProcess, of whichthe following is an exact specification.

invention consists in paratus for clam ing and buttin railway rails, girders and t 1e like in the wel ing process, said apparatus especially perfecting the clamping apparatus heretofore used in the weldlng of iron rails and girders according 'to a clamping ap- 'the Goldschmidt alumlnothermic process.

This known a paratus consists mainly of two pairs of 0 amps which are united by bridge bars and are by means of eccentric bolts pressed against the rails for the purpose of securing the clam s to the ends of -the rails to be united by Welding, and are by screw spindles or screw bolts brought together for t e urpose of butting the rail ends in the wel ing process. Thousands of weldings have been done satisfactorily b means of such clamping apparatus, but t ey showed the defect of not automatically bringing the rail ends axially true against each other, for the workman had to be very careful lest the rails should cant or deviate from the straight I line when the welding heat had been attained and the screw bolts were tightened u for square against each 0t er. The ob'ect of this present invention is'to obviate this defect and this is accomplished by firmly iding the clamping pairs themselves or t eir means for tightenlng in a direction parallel with the rai axis and on op- Eplsite s1des thereof. The guides may be cydrical or prismatic. The d rawing shows several examples of Figure 1 is a part sectional elevation, and

Fig. 2 a topview partly in longitudinal sec' tion of a clamping apparatus with cylindrical guides. F'g. 3 is apart sectional elevation, and Fig. 4 a plan partly in longitudinal sectionof a clam ing a paratus also with cylindrical guides ut where'the rail ends to be welded, because of the peculiar combination and formation of the clam s are guided accurately in all directions. ig. 5 1s a section,

tubular sockets 6 around the with the rail axis an of a nut '01 on and Fig. 6 a plan of an apparatus with prismatic guiding of the clamps.

The new apparatus shown in Figs. 1 and 2 has like the apparatus hitherto used two pairs of clamps a and a, the clamps of each pair beiniconnected by a lower bndge b and an upper rid e band having eccentric bolts 0 for firmly c amping those clamps against the rail web, the two airs of clamps being pulled toward each ot er by means of the screw bolts (2 for butt we ding the rails. Now according. to this invention the pulling devices (2 and thereby the pairs of clamps a and a are guided parallel for which purpose the clamps aare provided with projecting bolts (1, and the clam s d are provided with tubular sockets e which surround the sockets e. The tubular parts e e fit truly in each other, so as to compel the, pairs of clamps to be guided arallel so to revent t e pairs of clamps from deviatin From the desired direction when the rai? ends are pulled against each other for butt welding by, means 0 the bolts d and their nuts d". 'In conse quence of this exact guiding of the clam s it becomes unnecessary to provide a pulling device on each side as shown on the drawing, for it is enou h to use a single spindle above the head of t e rail, or under the rail base or at the side of the rail. 1

In the arrangement illustrated by F i s. 3 and 4 the clamps a and a are also rovided with tubular sockets e and e whic enga c with each other and serve to receive the puiling screws 11 in order to guide the rails exactly in the axial direction. But in order to guard not only against a lateral deviation of the rails but also against a bendin in the vertical direction, or in order to-produce an adjustment of'the rails in a vertical direction at their place of butting, vided with lash plates f which fit the section of the rail, while at the'same time the clamps in each pair are connected in another man ner. jointed together by means of cast on arms or brackets g and a pin 72/ and can by means a screw bolt 7'. which passes th iough the arms 9, be pressed against the rai s. a

In stead of the described cylindrical socket 1guldes for the pulling devlceguides separate om the latter but otherwise similar may of The clamps are therefore pivotally the clamps are proa g b applied, and the screw bo t be arranged outside the guide and for instance made to slide in eyes on the clamps. Lastly,

as shown in Fi 5 and 6 the clamps may be made with prismatic guides. In this case the clam s k and 7c are advantageously made of a section suiting the section of the rail and arranged in outer slide uides s on bridge pieces 0 parallel with the 0 amps and connected-thereto by means of screws 1 which work in oblong slots. The clamps of one pair may by the pressing screws. '1

I also as an example be permanently connected with the bridge pieces 0, while the clamps k at the other end of the bridge 0 are fitted to -move in a longitudinal direction in order to effect a butting of the rail ends. The movis of course applicable not only for the so-.

called thermic weldinglbut may just as successfully be applied w ere the welding heat is produced by electricity or by'a blast with acetylene or oxyfi drogen gas or in any other manner known. he butting action may also be fproduced in other ways than by means 0 screw belts, or screw spindles viz; for instance by hydraulic means. More than two pairs of clamps may be connected with each other.

Havin now particularly described the nature 0 our invention, w at we desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is A clamp for butt welding rail and like lengths, comprising sets of clamping jaws, guiding means extending axially between the sets of clam ing jaws and on opposite sides of the lengt to be joined,the guiding means on one side of the axis coacting wit those jaws of each pair which lie on the same side 0 the rail length as'said guides, means for drawing the jaws of a an toward one another so as to grip the ml or like lengths, and means for drawing the sets ofclamping jaws axially toward one another along the guiding means, substantially as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in thriipresence of two witnesses.

' ANS GOLDSCHMIDT. FELIX EANGE; Witnesses:

ALFRED Ponmnma, M. ENGELS. 

